A “cordial” and “professional” conversation was held between the two this morning after the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party formally last night agreed to back the minority government.

A number of stumbling blocks have yet to be overcome, however, before Mr Kenny can make history by becoming the second Fine Gael Taoiseach consecutively returned.

These include an agreement on how long the Government would last, the numbers of Independents who will back Mr Kenny’s administration and ironing out major policy differences between his party and Fianna Fáil, including on the future of Irish Water.

The Government is facing fresh claims that it is failing to address spiralling health waiting list delays after a patient was told a hospital could not see him for a neurological condition until at least 2024.